Rural Utah woman accidentally shot is upgraded to fair

A Sevier County woman was upgraded to fair condition on Monday, the day after she was accidentally shot as her boyfriend moved a hunting rifle aside to reach a tire iron in his pickup truck.

Cheyenne Hibbard, 18, had been in serious to critical condition Sunday night when flown by medical helicopter to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo. Hospital spokeswoman Janet Frank said she had improved as of late Monday morning.

Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis said Hibbard was shot in the torso about 1 p.m. Sunday outside a Richfield residence, when 22-year-old Jesse Warenski, of Richfield, reportedly reached inside the truck's back seat to pull out a tire iron when the 30.06 rifle went off.

Hibbard said she was standing on the passenger side of the pickup when the rifle discharged. As she walked away, she noticed a pain on the left side of her stomach. When she pulled up her shirt, she saw blood, and soon thereafter collapsed.

She was rushed to a local hospital and then flown to UVRMC.

The bullet appears to have entered the left side of the woman's body and exited just above her right breast. Deputies said the bullet passed through the rear of the truck's cab, Curtis said in a statement.

remims@sltrib.com

Twitter: @remims